Kalamazoo Christian's Josie Nieboer scored off of two defensive mistakes early in the second half to lead the Comets past St. Joseph Lake Michigan Catholic 2-0 in a Division 4 girls soccer regional semifinal at Kalamazoo College on Tuesday.

K-Christian will face Grandville Calvin Christian in the regional finals at 6 p.m. Thursday at Kalamazoo College. Calvin Christian, which defeated Quincy 8-0 on on Tuesday, has defeated K-Christian the past two seasons in the state tournament.

The Comets' first goal came when Meagan Laaksonen crossed the ball into the penalty area in the 46th minute and a Lake Michigan Catholic defender was unable to clear the ball.

Nieboer fought her way to the loose ball and slipped it past LMC goalkeeper Monica Milanowski.

Nieboer was at the end of another opportunistic goal three minutes later when Milanowski misplayed a back pass and Nieboer was able to walk in a goal.

"We were waiting for our opportunities," K-Christian coach Jay Allen said. "We didn't get many opportunities, and that is credited to LMC. The two opportunities we got, we capitalized on. We were able to finish on both opportunities.

"We were afraid that all it took was one opportunity for them or one less opportunity for us, then we are looking a 1-1 game or a 1-0 game."

Nieboer said the Comets had some chances early in the game, but they found their rhythm when they recorded the first goal.

"We did have some opportunities, but even those weren’t great," the senior said. "Once we got that first one it kind of made all of us pick it up and we were able to find a rhythm and by the end we were doing very well."

Outside the two defensive mistakes, the game was pretty even, with both teams having their share of scoring opportunities.

K-Christian outshot LMC 16-9, though the shots on goal were close as the Comets held a 6-5 edge.

With 15 minutes remaining in the match, LMC's Andrea Ives got behind the Kalamazoo Christian defense, but her touch around Kalamazoo Christian goalkeeper Allyson Kranstz was too fast on the artificial turf surface and rolled out for a goal kick.

Kranstz finished with five saves for the Comets (15-4, 7-0 Kalamazoo Valley Association).

LMC's Milanowski made four saves for the Lakers (15-6, 6-0 Red Arrow Conference), who will be graduating three seniors for this year's squad. The Lakers have won six consecutive district titles but are still in search of that first regional championship.

"We are getting closer every time, but we are tired of losing this region," LMC coach Ed Maher said.

With LMC adding more pressure late in the game, Kalamzoo Christian looked to put the game away for good when the Comets hit the crossbar with five minutes remaining.

"We made some adjustments halfway through the game, and that turned things around a little bit," LMC coach Ed Maher said.

"It was a 50-50 game, and we made the mistakes that cost us. We had a couple times where we didn't get quite right, and that's when they scored."